Appreciated by millions of fans across the globe, tennis lends itself excellently to a broad range of bet types. When it comes to betting popularity, as one may easily suppose, tennis ranks as one of the most bet-on sports disciplines around the globe. With hundreds of competitions held all year round, and the four Grand Slam tournaments at the forefront, few sports can match the wide array of betting opportunities that tennis provides.
Besides the standard match winner bets and outright winner bets, tennis punters can choose among an extensive range of other markets such as over/under bets, correct score bets, prop bets, total sets bets, and handicap betting variations.
Outright Winner BetWhat is more, tennis garners the attention of punters all the more thanks to the live betting opportunities, delivered by many online betting operators. They enable bettors to place in-game bets while tennis matches are played and take advantage of the various live fast-paced markets. Tennis accumulator betting is yet another thrilling opportunity that is worth exploring.
While some tennis bettors prefer to concentrate on just a few markets, others like to experiment and diversify their betting. Whatever your approach to tennis betting is, it is important to be aware of all the possible options. In the following lines, we aim to look into the most popular tennis bets and their specifics in more detail.
Outright Winner Bet
Outright winner is a very popular betting option among punters who like long-term bets. With outright winner bets, they select the future winner of a whole tournament, rather than a single match. Bookies offer odds on many players participating in major tournaments such as the Australian Open, the US Open, The French Open, and Wimbledon.
Bettors can place their outright bets several weeks ahead of the tournament. As time progresses and the competition starts, odds are constantly updated in accordance with its development. As one may easily suppose, the earlier punters select a tournament winner, the better odds they are likely to lock in. Let us now have a look at a couple of outright betting markets for the Wimbledon Men’s Tennis Tournament.
| Outright winner markets for Wimbledon Men’s Singles | Odds |
|---|---|
| Djokovic, Novak | 2.09 |
| Nadal, Rafael | 7.20 |
| Alcaraz, Carlos | 9.48 |
As can be seen in the table, the clear favorite, Novak Djokovic, has been assigned odds of 2.09. For example, let us assume that you have picked the talented player to win at odds of 2.09 before the prestigious sports event begins. If he manages to roll through the first four rounds without dropping a set, bookies will most surely lower his odds. Hence, placing an outright bet well ahead of major tournaments is an option exploited by many tennis bettors.
Match Bets
The most straightforward of all tennis bet types, match bets, involve picking the winner of an individual tennis match. In match bets, favorites are assigned lower odds, while outsiders receive more lucrative odds because of the lower implied probability to win.
In the table below, we may have a look at a match betting opportunity from ATP Munich, Germany Men’s Singles tournament.
| ATP Munich, Germany Men Singles | |
|---|---|
| Kecmanovic, Miomir 1.30 | Basilashvili, Nikoloz 3.30 |
If punters decide to place a €10 wager on the favorite, Miomir Kecmanovic, at odds of 1.30, their potential payout would be €13. Betting the same amount of money on Nikoloz Basilashvili would bring punters a total return of €33 if he manages to come on top. As we can clearly see, backing outsiders in match winner markets is potentially more profitable, but considerably riskier. Besides match winner bets, bookies also offer markets for the winner of the first set, the second set, and so on.
Over/Under Bets
With Over/Under tennis betting, punters are wagering on the number of games or sets to be played in a tennis match. As is usual with Over/Under bets, bettors are not supposed to pick a winner, but rather make an accurate prediction for the duration of the match.
Likewise, they can bet on the total number of games played in the match or, for example, only the first set. In a match from WTA Madrid, Victoria Azarenka is playing Victorija Golubic. Bookies offer different numbers and punters can bet on whether a match will go over or under these numbers.
| WTA Madrid Women Singles Victoria Azarenka vs Viktorija Golubic Over/Under Games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bet Market | Odds | Bet Market | Odds |
| Over 20.5 | 1.95 | Under 20.5 | 1.80 |
| Over 19.5 | 1.71 | Under 19.5 | 2.05 |
If you bet on the over 20.5 games for this match, then you would be predicting that the number of games will be 21 or more. A bet placed on the under 20.5 would mean that the number of games in this match would be 20 or less.
Exact Score Bets
Exact Score bets, also referred to as Correct Score bets, involve predicting the final score of tennis matches. In the table below, bettors can check the available options for an event from the Men’s Singles in ATP Estoril, Portugal.
| ATP Estoril, Portugal Men Singles Gasquet Richard vs Dellien, Hugo Correct Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Odds | Score | Odds |
| 2:0 | 3.61 | 2:1 | 5.01 |
| 0:2 | 2.58 | 1:2 | 4.07 |
Since exact scores are hard to predict, winning such a wager would generate a decent profit. However, making precise predictions can be quite challenging, even for professional punters.
Prop Bets
Prop bets, also known as proposition bets introduce an even greater variety to the options bettors are supplied with. Some bookies refer to this category also as novelty bets or side bets. They are made in relation to the occurrence or non-occurrence of a certain event in a tennis match. Tennis delivers a wealth of prop betting opportunities, especially when it comes to higher-profile tournaments such as the four Gand Slams. These could be, for example, the player to win the first set, over/under on aces, and the number of sets the player will win by, among others.
Total Sets Bets
As the name of the market suggests, it involves betting on the total number of sets played in a single tennis match. Bettors should note that tennis matches can be played in a three- or five-set format according to the specifics of the contest. Therefore, before you place a wager on a Total Sets betting market, it is necessary to know the format of the contest. In a best-of-three tennis contest, for example, bettors have the option to bet on a market of over or under 2.5 sets.
Live/In-play Betting
Among the most thrilling ways to wager on tennis is live betting, also referred to as in-play betting. It allows punters to enjoy an even greater number of betting opportunities after the match has already started. Besides live match winner bets, punters can wager on handicap markets, correct scores, and totals, among others.
The odds of live betting markets go up and down at a rapid pace, in line with the match events. Some bookmakers that focus on tennis offer live streaming of the live events – a particularly convenient feature facilitating bettors greatly in their in-game wagers.
Handicap Bets
Handicap tennis bets are a more advanced option, which many punters like to incorporate into their betting. As already mentioned, betting on favorites is not lucrative as a whole, whereas betting on outsiders is potentially profitable, yet the chances of success are oftentimes quite slim. That is why, bookmakers offer handicap betting options, aiming to level out the playing ground between mismatched opponents.
| ATP Munich, Germany Men’s Singles Molcan, Alex vs Ruud, Casper | |
|---|---|
| Molcan, Alex (+6.5) 1.29 | Ruud, Casper (-6.5) 3.3 |
Handicap markets are characterized by handicaps that affect the virtual result. Outsiders are provided with an advantage of several games or sets, while favorites are disadvantaged. For instance, as per one of the offered handicap markets in the Men’s Singles tournament of ATP Munich, Casper Ruud starts the match with Alex Molcan with a -6.5 game handicap. This means that Ruud must win by 7 games or more for the handicap bet to be successful. Handicap betting allows punters to bet on outsiders and win, although the players eventually lose the match.
Accumulator Bets
And last but not least, accumulator betting is a much-liked strategy employed by many tennis punters. Instead of betting on clear favorites featuring unattractive odds, many bettors prefer to incorporate several bets into one wager and thus enjoy higher payouts. The early rounds of tennis tournaments are oftentimes characterized by matches between firm favorites and lower-ranked players. This provides punters with the excellent opportunity to combine several bets on firm favorites into an accumulator delivering a high payout without a great risk of a major upset.
Conclusion
Tennis betting rules for the various bet types tend to vary across the different bookmakers and bettors should make sure they have read and understood them. Whether you like to bet on the Grand Slams or smaller-scale tournaments, the wide variety of tennis betting markets delivers punters with the opportunity to profit from the prestigious individual sport and turn their knowledge into cash. The ATP, WTA, and ITF events attract a great deal of betting action all year round and in-depth knowledge of the various betting options is essential for a successful tennis betting experience.